Rafael Nadal: My goal is to play well in Barcelona, not to become No. 1

Rafael Nadel made his first appearance at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, speaking to a large contingent of media at a press conference Monday afternoon to announce his arrival in Spain. Nadal is eager to compete in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell after defeating Novak Djokovic on Sunday to win the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

“Yesterday was as an important day for me,” Nadal said. “Today is another day and I am thinking about this tournament, which is one of the most beautiful events on the tour. It is great to play in front of your home crowd.”

Asked about his objective his season, the current World No. 2 said: “My goal is to play well in Barcelona, not to become No. 1. I am closer to the No. 3 ranking than to the No. 1. What counts now is the tournament in Barcelona.”

Nadal, who is ranked second in the world, dominated against Djokovic (6-3, 6-1). The win clinched his eighth-consecutive Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters title and ended his seven-match losing streak against Djokovic. No other player has won eight consecutive titles in tennis history.

“It was crucial to finally win a tournament again. But obviously beating Djokovic was mentally very important.”

Spain’s left-hander and top seed in Barcelonan will debut on Wednesday after a bye against the winner of the first round match between fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Belgium’s Oliver Rochus. Nadal defeated David Ferrer to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in 2011, and he has won the tournament in six of the last seven years (he did not play in 2010 due to an injury).

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal captured the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell trophy for the seventh time on Sunday as he defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6(1), 7-5 in the final. He was contesting his 69th tour-level final and won his 48th title.

It is the fourth time that Nadal has beaten Ferrer in the final of this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tennis tournament. He has won his past 34 matches at the event and lifted the trophies from 2005-2009 and 2011-2012.

"It's almost unimaginable to win here seven times," said Nadal. "It's a special tournament for me, at home in my club. To win at home in front of the people you know is always more special. I played at a very high level to win in Monte-Carlo and now Barcelona without losing a set, but I've been playing at a high level from the beginning of the year starting in Australia.

"The emotions are always high, but probably each year they get a bit higher as you are one year older and you don't know how many chances you are going to have left."

Nadal was made to work very hard for his 14th win in 18 meetings with Ferrer. The top seed rallied from an early break down in the first set and was forced to save five set points in the 12th game. He then stepped up to dominate the tie-break and clinch the first set after 93 minutes.

The Mallorcan looked to have a decisive lead when he broke for 3-1 in the second set. But the resilient Ferrer hit back to win four of the next five games to earn a chance to serve for the set. He was unable to convert, though, and Nadal broke serve to love in the 12th game to prevail in two hours and 40 minutes.

Victory marked Nadal’s second ATP World Tour title in as many weeks. Last week he ended a 10-month title drought by winning his eighth successive Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters trophy (d. Djokovic). He is the first player in the Open Era to win two ATP World Tour tournaments seven times.

"It was a very equal match," reflected Nadal. "He didn't let me play my best level in the first set. I feel sorry for David and hope he can win here one day because he deserves it. Of course I am very happy to win two titles in a row and to start the clay court season like this."

The 25-year-old Nadal is on a 21-match winning streak on clay since losing to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia last May. He bounced back from that defeat to win his 10th Grand Slam championship at Roland Garros (d. Federer).

World No. 6 Ferrer was bidding to win his fourth ATP World Tour title of the season, following victory in Auckland (d. Rochus) and two wins on clay in Buenos Aires (d. Almagro) and Acapulco (d. Verdasco). The 30 year old had saved three match points to edge Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals and overcame Milos Raonic in two tie-breaks in the semi-finals.

It is the 12th time in 13 attempts that Ferrer has lost to a Top 10 player in an ATP World Tour final; he dropped to a 14-15 record in title matches.

"I had chances in both sets; he played better in the important moments," conceded Ferrer. "It's always hard to lose a final, but especially today it's hard because of the way it happened. It came down to small details, but Rafa deserved it.

"Overall I'm happy with my week. I played my best match of the week today, but to win against Rafa I had to do more. I played a bit too conservatively on the set points in the first set. It's difficult to lose my fourth final. It was a very good tournament for me."

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"If friendship weren’t left to one side on the court, Rafa would have no friends, because he is bashing everybody. Rafa is always at 200 percent, with brutal intensity, and takes advantage of you the most quickly." - Fernando Verdasco.

Rafael Nadal will return to World No. 2 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings after winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title for the sixth time on Monday in Rome. In a re-match of the 2011 final, the Spaniard defeated World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3 after rain had washed out play on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Nadal lifted the trophy at the Foro Italico for the sixth time, following triumphs in 2005-2007 and 2009-2010. Victory also marked a record-breaking 21st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown for Nadal. The Spaniard had broken new territory with victory at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, before Roger Federer drew level with success at the Mutua Madrid Open last week.

Federer’s victory in Madrid had also seen Nadal displaced as World No. 2 as the Swiss returned to the Top 2 for the first time since the week of 14 March, 2011. It means Djokovic and Nadal will be seeded Nos. 1 and 2 at next week’s Roland Garros.

"I am happy that I won in Rome without losing a set against the best players in the world like [Tomas] Berdych and [David] Ferrer and Djokovic," said Nadal. "I will have this trophy in my bedroom. It is a dream. [I have] the confidence I am playing well and this comes when I play at the right level. Hopefully I will keep playing like this."

Nadal now goes into Roland Garros, where he will attempt to lift the trophy for the seventh time, with a 16-1 record on clay this season. He has been victorious in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona (d. Ferrer) and now in Rome, while his lone defeat came in Madrid at the hands of Fernando Verdasco.

After losing seven times in a row against Djokovic between the 2011 Indian Wells final and this year’s Australian Open title match, Nadal has now beaten the Serb twice. He stopped the run of defeats with a straight-sets victory in Monte-Carlo and leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 18-14.

Djokovic was under immediate pressure from Nadal below brighter skies at the Foro Italico on Monday. The Serb saved two break points in his opening service game before Nadal converted his fourth opportunity to lead 3-2. Djokovic immediately recovered the service break, but was broken by Nadal again in the 11th game, after a scintillating exchange at the net, and the Spaniard sealed the opener.

Nadal was quick to capitalise on his momentum, taking advantage of an increased unforced error count by Djokovic and dominating from the baseline as he broke in the first game of the second set. Djokovic squandered four break back points in the following game, and another in the fourth game, before surrendering the match in the ninth game after two hours and 20 minutes with his fourth double fault.

The 24-year-old Djokovic was bidding to win the Rome title for the third time, following victories in 2008 (d. Wawrinka) and 2011. He also finished runner-up to Nadal in the 2009 finale. The Belgrade native has captured two tour-level titles this season, retaining his crowns at the Australian Open and Miami (d. Murray), and goes into Roland Garros with a 30-5 match record.

"He is always the favourite, even if I win against him seven times; he is the best player in the world on this surface," said Djokovic. "I think that the match today was quite close, even if he won in straight sets. If you don’t use the opportunities against Rafa he gets momentum. I made a lot of errors which should not happen when you play against Nadal. I will go to Paris with confidence and I played a great week."

« Last Edit: May 21, 2012, 12:30:36 PM by conchita »

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Rafael Nadal won his seventh Roland Garros title on Monday, defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 and in the process becoming the most-crowned man in Open Era history at the French Open.

Picking up where they left off on Sunday night, the two best players in the world served up an incredible spectacle during which Nadal fought back from his break down overnight, 2-1 down in the fourth set, to win the title in the most unexpected of circumstances. A double fault from Djokovic handed him his record-breaking win in 3 hours and 50 minutes of play, over two days.

Nadal thus becomes the undisputed King of Clay, overtaking the great Bjorn Borg who won the French Open six times. Just 26, Nadal will now dream of adding more titles on the beloved red earth of Roland Garros, the ‘Casa de Rafa’ as his fans like to call it. The Spanish second seed was hugely impressive all fortnight, and though he was pushed all the way by the world No.1, dug deep into his reserves of energy, experience and tactical acumen to fully deserve his triumph.

Breathtaking tennisDjokovic had already shown what an incredible champion he is by saving four match points against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round. That sheer bloody-mindedness, allied to the best all-round technique in the game right now, brought him back from the brink on Sunday night when he was two sets and a break down. Had 'the Djoker' taken this match to five sets, who knows how it may have turned out, but Nadal was not to be denied.

The neutrals were left wanting more today, simply because the standard of tennis was so breathtaking. Even though play only lasted 50 minutes and nine games in all, Act 2 of this final will be remembered for its intensity and for the unique Monday atmosphere in the stands, which were packed with excited fans.

This final will go down in history then, not just for Rafa’s achievement, but also because Djokovic just failed in his bid to become the first player since Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slams simultaneously. But that is not the half of it. There was the dramatic weather over two days, the swirling rain that had the last word on Sunday night and returned on Monday to halt play for a handful of minutes, and then the sun that broke through the clouds as if to welcome Nadal into the pantheon of tennis legends.

And, lest we forget, there was the tennis, simply stunning in its power, precision and athleticism. The margins were so close, the stakes so high and yet both champions hit the ball with such talent and freedom of expression we were left shaking our heads time and again, both yesterday and today.

50 minutes of pure pleasureThe turning point of Monday’s play came at the outset, when Rafa crucially broke back to immediately get himself back on level terms. At 30-all Djokovic netted after a long exchange that he had dominated, and promptly bashed himself on the forehead with the strings of his racquet. Break point went Rafa’s way in the most dramatic fashion, a net cord bringing ‘Nole’ into the net and opening the court for a pass that Nadal needed no second invitation to bury, cross-court.

Nadal’s service was straight in the groove and he held to lead 3-2 to put the pressure straight on Djokovic. With balls flying to all corners, Nole clipped the line and Nadal just missed in the next game and the Serb held for 3-3. The sky was darkening and Nadal held for 4-3 with an astonishing get that became a winner as the stunned Djokovic watched it come improbably back over the net.

The rain was coming down now and thunder even rumbling overhead but still we went on, with Djokovic showing incredible self-belief to serve-and-volley at 30-30 and force an error from the Spaniard. Back at 4-4 a point later, we were entering crunch time and now it was Nadal’s moment to show his courage, serving big and dominating the next game to lead 5-4.

The rain was getting heavier and for a moment it looked as though the actors would leave the stage, but after a five-minute break, during which Nadal had ample time to dwell on being four points from glory and Novak to stare defeat in the face, they were back. Djokovic showed no signs of nerves, hitting down-the-line and cross-court rockets to level at 5-5.

The penultimate game was typically thrilling, Nadal slamming a 201 km/h ace for 30-0 but then watching a disputed line-call and an out-of-this-world cross-court backhand bring the Serb level at 30-30. An unforced error long and a lob that drifted long were enough for the Majorcan second seed to lead 6-5.

Nadal needed to attack now, with a tie-break looming and he did just that in the last game, returning beautifully to set up the points and then stepping into the court to force destiny his way. At 30-40, suddenly Rafael was one point away from glory, and when Djokovic improbably double-faulted the title was Rafa’s, again.

It was a cruel end to a match which had thrilled fans around the world for two days, but while the shock and disappointment of that final point will fade, the images of an epic contest between two giants of the game will live long in the memory.

Speaking after the match, Djokovic was quick to look back to the Tsonga match, and give credit to Nadal: "I could easily have lost the match in fourth round or even more against Tsonga, but I managed to come to the finals for the first time in my career. I should be happy about that, of course. I will be and I am, but in this moment I am disappointed about this loss because I thought I started to play better in the third set and felt like I could take this match to a fifth set, and then, you know, everything could be possible, but, yeah, unfortunately there has been a rain delay yesterday when I started to feel really good on the court. But look, you know, I don't want to find an excuse in that, because the first rain delay maybe helped me a little bit; the second helped him. So that's the way it goes, and the better player won today. So congratulations for that."

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Two-time reigning champion Rafael Nadal made Roland Garros history on Monday, defeating top-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in a rain-delayed final that spanned two days to capture his seventh title in Paris, breaking a tie with Bjorn Borg for the most trophies in tournament history.

"For me it is a real honour. Borg is one of the greatest in history, one of the more charismatic players in history," Nadal said in a post-match interview with John McEnroe. "The comparison with the great Bjorn is fantastic. He's always been very nice to me, so I have to say thanks."

With his 11th Grand Slam crown, Nadal moves into a third-place tie with Borg for the most major singles championships in the Open Era. He also becomes just the 10th player in Open Era history to win 50 titles on the ATP World Tour, with 36 of his successes occurring on clay.

Djokovic was bidding to join Rod Laver as the only men’s player to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time since 1969, having topped Nadal in the previous three major finals. He was aiming to become the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win back-to-back titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. The loss snapped his 27-match Grand Slam winning streak and he dropped to a 5-3 record in major finals. The World No. 1 had won two five-set thrillers during his run to the final, rallying from a two-sets-to-love deficit against Andreas Seppi in the round of 16, and edging Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a five-set quarter-final clash after saving four match points.

"I could easily have lost the match in fourth round or even more against Tsonga, but I managed to come to the final for the first time in my career. I should be happy about that," said Djokovic. "I thought we played a fantastic match where people hopefully enjoyed yesterday and today, and I was even surprised with the number of people who attended this match today. It was a working day, but it was still a full stadium. It's beautiful. These matches make you feel like all the work that you put into it is worth [it]."

In a tussle between the Top 2 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Nadal was the more consistent player in the first two sets, overcoming cold, heavy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier to lead 6-3, 5-3 before rain interrupted the final.

After a 34-minute rain delay, Nadal broke Djokovic with a stunning backhand pass to take a two-set lead. He seemed to be in command of the match, after breaking Djokovic to move ahead 2-0 in the third set. But the Serbian dug in to win six consecutive games, claiming his first set in 11 attempts against Nadal in Paris. Djokovic continued to control the momentum early in the fourth set, holding a 2-1 break advantage before rained halted play for the day.

When play resumed Monday, Nadal immediately broke back to level at 2-all after his netcord opened up the court for a routine winner. After five more service holds, a brief delay stopped play, before Djokovic held to 5-all. But Nadal stepped up in the final two games, holding in a tight game for a 6-5 lead, and then ripping a forehand winner at 30-all in the ensuing game to set up championship point. Djokovic then tossed in his fourth double fault to send Nadal to his knees, who wrapped up the final victory in three hours and 49 minutes.

Entering the final, Nadal was the first man in the Open Era to reach five Grand Slam finals without losing a set. He is now 5-0 in those tournament runs, and four of those triumphs have come at Roland Garros. The 26 year old has won 52 of his 53 matches in Paris, with his only blip coming at the hands of Robin Soderling in the round of 16 three years ago.

Since falling to Djokovic in the longest Grand Slam final clash in history at the Australian Open to lose his seventh consecutive title match to the Serbian, Nadal has won three straight meetings, all coming in clay-court finals. He beat Djokovic at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Rome and Monte-Carlo. With Sunday's victory, Nadal increased his FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series lead over Djokovic to a 19-14 mark.

Note: Frenchman Max Decugis won eight Roland Garros titles in 1903-04, '07-09, '12-14. But the French championships did not invite international players to compete at the tournament until 1925.

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